BASEBALL: METS NOTEBOOK; Reed's Injury Will Give Rotation a New Look

Rick Reed is convinced that if a dark billboard had been behind home plate at Shea Stadium when he lost sight of Andruw Jones's line drive Thursday night, the ball would never have struck his left wrist and forced him to the disabled list.

The Mets expect Reed to miss two to three weeks after learning yesterday that the right-hander has a nondisplaced fracture of the pisiform bone on the wrist. Jim Mann, a right-handed reliever, was recalled from Class AAA Norfolk for what could be a short stay. The Mets are considering several options to fill Reed's next start, and they are also considering changing the signage behind home plate. General Manager Steve Phillips spoke with major league officials yesterday about billboard colors and was told that the color on the sign when Reed was hit -- cool gray No. 4 -- meets the specifications of the commissioner's office.

''But we'll talk internally about whether we want to make our own changes, regardless of what baseball's policies are,'' Phillips said.

Mets pitchers hope something is done. Hitters have dark backdrops so they can see pitches, Reed said, so pitchers should have the same courtesy.

''I think they should make it darker or use computer graphics'' to simulate ads on television, reliever Turk Wendell said. ''Fortunately, that ball last night wasn't at Rick's face.''

The damage to Reed's wrist could have been worse. Reed is wearing a plastic splint, and he will begin throwing today, with another person handling return throws. (Reed will have to throw from flat ground, he said, because of a mild calf strain also sustained Thursday.)

When Reed's wrist was struck by a liner in April, he refused an M.R.I. test. Only yesterday did he learn he had broken a bone in his wrist that time, too.

Reed did not go on the disabled list then and missed one start, but he altered his mechanics to compensate for the pain and sometimes struggled after his return. By letting it heal, Reed said he was hoping that things would be better.

The Mets remain undecided about who will start in Florida on Tuesday, but Pat Mahomes, Bobby M. Jones and Grant Roberts are the candidates. Jones and Roberts are in Norfolk. Mann was recalled in case the Mets needed a long reliever last night, when Mahomes was unavailable because he threw 60 pitches Thursday. If Roberts or Jones were chosen, Mann would presumably return to Norfolk.